‘Residential Business Is Important For Us’

James Price, vice-president, Residential, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, talks about the company’s upcoming branded residential project in Bangalore.

Q: How important is India as a market for both the hotel business as well as for the residential business?
A: Four Seasons is first and foremost a hospitality group but increasingly the residential components are becoming an important part of our business. About 60 per cent of our current pipeline has a residential element to it.

India is an important market and we are looking at doing more business here. The Mumbai hotel is our first step, in terms of an operational hotel. We have a private residential component to that as well which is starting to get developed now. The Bangalore project, with the Embassy Group, is going to be the first hotel and residential project to be operational by 2017-end. Bangalore is an aspirational city, and therefore, this is a right time for us. The customers and potential owners in this market want to see the best, and we believe will deliver the best. We also have a project in Delhi and we are working on it. We are looking for more opportunities as well.

Q: Which is your largest market?
A: The US continues to be the largest market for us. We are based in Toronto so in North America we are very well known. But increasingly people recognise the value of Four Seasons around the world. We have 34 residential projects across 18 countries. We have another 60 projects in the pipeline.

Q: What distinguishes Four Seasons from other branded residences?
A: Everybody understands the Four Seasons hotel brand. The private residences are allied to that. It’s all about the service standards. But these are not just hotel spaces that are designed for temporary stay. These are residences designed around being homes and they are tailored to individual needs. The amenities, the design of the individual apartments and the service provided is bespoke and tailored to them. So it is a very specialised experience which is set up. And one which we believe sets Four Seasons apart from other branded residences in the market.

Q: What kind of facilities will one enjoy having a home at the Four Seasons?
A: There are a range of services which will be in place in terms of security, maintenance, staff, concierge, etc. Over and above that are the a la carte services. People will pay as they use them. All the services will be provided by Four Seasons’ trained staff and will meet our service standards.

The whole idea is that it is like coming home but you have all these amazing hotel facilities around you.